EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial
Finesse, the leading provider of workplace financial wellness
programs, announced today the release of its annual study on the gender
gap in financial literacy.

The study found the gender gap is closing as women continue to improve
their financial wellness in all key areas of financial planning—a
reversal of the trend the firm saw in 2012 when the gap actually
widened. That said, there is still a significant gap between men and
women in nearly every key area of financial planning.

Significant findings from the report were:

Women are approaching their finances more proactively and using
financial wellness programs more often, and more regularly, than men.
In 2013, women made up 63 percent of financial wellness program users,
while men made up only 37 percent. The percentage of women using
financial wellness programs has steadily increased year over year
since 2011 when the firm began measuring this data through aggregated
results from its financial wellness assessment tool.

The gap remains most significant in investing and cash management
despite women’s improvements in these areas. One-third of women
feel confident about their investment allocation compared to one-half
of men, and only 66 percent report a general knowledge of investing
compared to 85 percent of men. Likewise, 63 percent of women report
having a handle on cash flow, and only 47 percent indicate having an
emergency fund, whereas men reported 78 percent and 62 percent,
respectively.

Surprisingly, making more money does not mean a smaller gap in
financial wellness. The gap actually widened between men and women
who had annual household incomes over $150,000. At the same time, it
closed most between men and women with annual household incomes over
$60,000 and under $100,000. Those with annual household incomes
between $20,000 and $35,000 also saw an increase in the disparity
between the genders.

Liz Davidson, CEO and founder of Financial Finesse, says it is
encouraging to see women closing the gap and participating more
regularly in financial wellness programs, but notes that there is more
to be done. “I think society is beginning to realize the severity of the
challenges women face in achieving long-term financial security, but
they are still so significant that women have to do even more in order
to overcome them,” says Davidson, citing the fact that women earn less
on average than men and have to make their savings last longer due to
longer life spans.

Greg Ward, Director of Financial Finesse’s Think Tank of CERTIFIED
FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals who compile the firm’s research
reports, notes the irony of the gender gap. According to Ward, “Women
need to save considerably more and invest more wisely and more
aggressively than men because of these challenges, so the fact that they
lag behind men in these areas is concerning.” Ward adds that the
economic implications of the gender gap are significant. “While I’m not
aware of any specific research on the cost of the gender gap in
financial literacy,” says Ward, “when you consider that a woman with a
college degree will make on average $1.2 million less than a man over
her career, we’re looking at a $28 trillion problem over the next 35
years.”

The good news, according to Ward, is that employers are especially doing
more to reach women with financial and retirement education to help them
overcome these challenges—taking a more holistic approach to their
benefits and how they communicate them to women and employees overall. A
recent AON Hewitt study found that more than three-quarters of companies
plan to implement or expand their focus on financial wellness in 2014.
Similarly, Financial Finesse has experienced a 360% increase in
inquiries about its services among both companies and financial services
firms looking to address this issue.

About Financial Finesse

Financial Finesse is an unbiased financial education company providing
personalized and innovative financial education and counseling programs
to over 1,000,000 employees at over 500 organizations. Financial Finesse
partners with organizations to reach goals such as reducing fiduciary
liability, increasing plan participation, decreasing stress, and
increasing productivity through its unique approach to financial
education. Financial Finesse research is conducted by their Think Tank
of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals who analyze usage of the
company’s financial education services to monitor trends in employee
financial issues. Financial Finesse does not sell products nor manage
assets. For more information, visit www.financialfinesse.com.